Last Voices
by Moonraker One
Summary: When no one else believed Jor El, his trusted friend and colleague did. Perhaps the last scientific voice of Krypton could be an even bigger asset to the human race than their Superman. EARTH ONE AU
1. Chapter 1

Last Voices  
by Moonraker One

CHAPTER ONE – Paranoid and Afraid

"Twelve...thirteen, hmph! Fourteen!"

A masculine voice cried out the repetitions of weight lifting while struggling to maintain breath. His spotter helped him pull the bar up and onto the rest. He yanked himself up to a seated position and wiped his brow and eyes with a partially cramped hand. Immediately he shook his head and his long silver hair went back into place. His shirt soaked with sweat, the man pressed his left hand onto his right shoulder and did an arm circle to ease the fatigue. As much strain as he'd put on his body—and four sets of fourteen reps of three hundred pounds had been more than he'd ever tried—he enjoyed the exercise. The spotter assisted him to stand, and he walked to the showers.

"Doz-Du, tell me something," the spotter inquired, curious, "why do you put so much effort on your physique when you're one of the ranking members of the scientific council?" The darker, shorter haired man could understand why he himself did it, because he had been in the field of sports. But a man of the mind such as his friend, focused on science for a living. The rationale left him if it had ever taken rest in the first place.

"Because, Mul-Va," Doz replied, "I've always believed that the body and mind should be equally fit. Completeness of self cannot be achieved without the combined accomplishments of a well-educated scientific mind, as well as a fit, well-toned body." He took a towel from the rack, and entered the shower room. "I'll talk to you on another occasion, Mul. Have luck in your sporting desires!" The door slid shut as he stripped naked and stood underneath the shower head in the sectioned-off cubicle shower. A mirror rest between the knob and the head, and he examined his torso and arms as he turned the water on to his moderately hot desired temperature. His chest and abdomen looked chiseled out of granite, and he certainly felt the pain to prove it. His toned, ripped look had cost him much fatigue and strain, but firmly reminded him of the duty to one's self. His long hair, having gone silver just two years ago at the age of thirty, plagued him only mildly. It brought him some unusual looks but if his arms and torso looked attractive to the opposing gender he didn't care.

It didn't take him long to put on his normal clothing, a standard Kryptonian body suit that fit him well. White on black were his favorite colors, and his chest bore a diamond-shaped shield, with his family crest in the middle. Perhaps it didn't have the authority of his colleague Jor-El's symbol of power, but he felt it proud wearing it nonetheless. Looking like a reversed lowercase "k" in sans serif font with dots slightly to the left of the upward and downward angled spokes of the letter, it had been known for eons as Krypton's symbol of intelligence. To his sincerest luck, as his biological parents had died, and that none seemingly wanted to wear a symbol of the mind over one of the body, he chose it as his own. When he married, his wife would have to agree to it, or he'd have to change it, but that sat in the future from where he existed.

"Pardon me for a moment, Doz, if I may," a familiar voice beckoned, drawing him away from his desired goal of walking to his hover vehicle. He looked to his right to see the one he'd had the distinct pleasure of working with many years. He smiled.

"Jor-El!" He embraced the man. "What brings you to search me out at the fitness center?"

"I wish I could tell you that my latest scientific discovery went well," he answered. Doz could at once determine that something had gone amiss of that his friend didn't find comfort in.

"Jor-El, what troubles you? Has a loved one perished?" He put both hands on his friend at this point. He then saw something unfamiliar; the man he'd trusted for a long time looked depressed. Such had never crossed his mind before. This was a man who always found joy in everything, even failures of science.

"Take me back to your home, Doz, and I'll tell you everything. I fear what might happen if I speak here."

"Anything at all, Jor-El! By Rao, this must be the end of the world to rattle you this way!" Irony has its amazing little ways of twisting around something.

The sky roads clogged, it took longer than usual for the member of the house of El to make it to the bachelor scientist's living quarters. Nevertheless, when the two sat down, it seemed as though it had been no time at all away. Doz couldn't be more anxious to find what had troubled his comrade so. When the normally outspoken scientist had trouble forming words, the scene, to any who'd known Jor, looked as alien as could be.

"Doz, I wanted to tell you before I told the science council, before I had to brief the ruling committee." He looked into his friend's eyes. His eyes wore a solemnness not yet seen by Doz. "The only other I've told is my wife. My brother Zor doesn't even know yet. This may, however, get me kicked off the science council. It may even get my family name, the authority of the House of El, tarnished beyond repair. What I'm about to tell you may ruin me."

Finally Doz could take no more. "Dammit, Jor! What is this life-ending piece of knowledge? What could be so disastrous to even think of?"

Jor swallowed hard. The moisture seemingly disappeared from his throat. Yet still, since it had to be uttered, he did so. "Krypton is doomed."

Doz actually shot backwards in his chair. He regarded Jor as though he'd been told a joke. Still, he knew his friend better than that. "So...explain how that is, for me."

Jor-El buried his head in his hands. "I've done every calculation I can dream of. I've studied every sample I can get my hands on. This planet's core has grown terribly unstable from millennia of bombardment from material cooling and collapsing inward. The point of return has been passed. If you're an optimist, I give our planet a few weeks past my unborn son's delivery date." He looked at Doz, praying his friend believed him. He knew his superiors, and their superiors, and yet superiors above them, would not.

Doz prayed to Rao, silently, that his friend decided to pull a prank on him. Yet, he braced for the more than likely chance it would not prove so. "And, if I'm of a more pessimistic nature?"

Jor-El had been hoping that didn't get asked. He should have known his comrade better than that, though. "It could, in fact, go at almost any time."

Doz leaned back in his chair, trying to take it all in. It proved difficult, but if anything defined him, it had to be his penchant for being strong in the presence of troubling thoughts. He laughed. "And here, to think, earlier today I actually pondered if my future wife would like my crest as a family symbol." He knew he probably would die. The ruling council had banned all interstellar travel thanks in part to all the violence taking shape in Argo City, coupled with the paranoia that had taken shape since the countless wars had driven the once exuberant empire to the brink of failure. Even if he had the materials to build a ship—and he didn't—the odds were overwhelming that military officials from the committee would simply blow it out of the sky. Still, it wasn't in his personality to do nothing.

"I really wish this weren't so."

Doz looked his friend in the eye. "Tell me something, Jor-El. Your family has tremendous resources, even if telling the council will be career suicide. What is YOUR solution to getting off this rock? For a ship to evade security scans, both of us, and your wife, are adults. It would be too big to house an adult." He scratched an itch on his arm. "I know you, Jor-El. You're definitely going to do something. But what?" The idea then hit him. "Unless..."

Jor-El nodded. "Yes. I'm going to build a ship to send my son away in. Our planet may die, but I at least want to send something of my legacy." He then buried his head in his hands again. "I'm sorry, Doz! I wish there was something I could do for you."

Doz had already realized his fate. "Don't worry, the fact that you trust me with the delicate information is proof that you cared about me. I just wish there was some thing I could do." Jor-El left the chambers looking slightly sullen, yet driven by the desire to get his yet to be born son off the planet. The silver-haired scientist looked long into his mirror after his colleague had left. His green eyes told the tale of doubt. He removed his upper outfit. His proud, ripped torso and defined arms told the story of hard work of the body. Looking behind him, his awards, told the tale of hard work of the mind. His field may have been the study of yellow sunlight's affects on Kryptonians, but he'd also won a few awards in the fields of electromagnetism. Yet, if the planet soon would die, and him with it, what were they but mere pieces of paper?

Half walking half stumbling into the laboratory he had, with walls lined with lead alloys to prevent radiation if such occurred. Glancing around, at all he had built with his own hands, he saw in the middle his field generator. Powerful electromagnets would generate a distortion in space which would be contained by a magnetic field of opposite polarity. It required an extreme amount of energy, but he provided that from Krypton's red sun. He pressed two knobs on his wall. The field began generating with the containment just an inch outside of it. "Damned ruling council, your arrogance will spell the doom of all Krypton!" He picked up one of his fusion stones; he'd discovered minerals that had a unique property. They became harder via temperature, and would contain a fusion reaction due to their natural electric charge. When filled with hyrdrogen, they could be then hit with high electric charges and a fusion reaction would start. It would then emit the solar energy of a small yellow sun. He angrily pitched it at the table, hoping to hit the machine, but it landed short, and its glowing light poured into the field.

He then picked up one of his probe bots, which he'd built for analyzing other planets, and pitched it towards the machine. This time, instead of hitting one of the magnetic pole emitters, it flew into the field itself. He expected it to merely explode or some other form of ceasing to function. It vanished.

"What in Rao's name?...!" he ran over. THIS was a shock. The science council had told him to abandon work on the field generation, because they viewed it as a pitiful attempt to recreate the former empire of Krypton, and that moving directly to a far off location by bending space could not feasibly be done. For a science council, they were quite closed minded. Another amazing thing happened; the object came back THROUGH the field. Picking it up led to more excitement. It had scratches on it; the data recorder had foreign planet information. All this meant it had gone somewhere, someone had found it, and sent it back. He wanted to scream and shout in exuberation, but the council had many ears and eyes. This would have to remain private.

For the longest time he went about his life as normally as one could. He went to the fitness center and worked out, provided his contributions and papers to the council, then went home, and shut and locked all doors, and worked on his project. What especially had to be kept secret were the fusion stones. Being, from a Kryptonian biology standpoint, the same as a yellow sun, they were highly illegal because of the power they granted someone of this planet. Still, he cared little of power and more of survival. He also had to put light screens up over the walls of his lab because the crystals of his house naturally wanted to transmit the red sunlight, which would interfere with the fusion stones.

Going to the halls of science would allow him to grow copies of data crystals. If Krypton's death would annihilate centuries of science, he'd be there to preserve some of it. It drew attention, but he would always find a legitimate excuse for it. His friend, Jor-El, surely enough, had been banished from the council and his reputation irreparably tarnished. Yet, he waited for the time to tell his ally of his plan. With what he would construct, they wouldn't need a ship.

Jor-El, one day, received a call from his friend Doz-Du and decided to find out what was going on. "Doz, I can tell by the disorganization of your living quarters that you've spent quite a bit of time on a project. What troubles you this late in Krypton's life?" He found no verbal answer, merely a gesture to enter deeper into the house. When he saw a large magnetic field, containing another, with a sphere in the middle, he found himself curious. "Now, what exactly does that do?"

Doz had a smile on his face like only scientific advancement could bring. "Tell me something, do you remember the project the council told me never to continue?" He waited for a nod. "Well, if they're going to be dead soon, I figure, why not continue it?" He closed the door behind Jor. "See, I realized that, with larger sources of power, you could open a magnetic distortion deeper in space. With a little polarization, you could even give a general area of which to open it. If all my calculations are correct, I believe I may have stumbled upon the answer as to how to leave this dying world without arousing knowledge."

Jor-El had a fascinated look on his face. "You certain do have a way of getting things from ideas, Doz-Du. Even if I can't condone your use of illegal fusion stones, I must applaud your attempts to save those you care about."

Doz moved forward. "Jor-El, bring your brother. Bring your wife, and your unborn child. We can go to a planet with yellow sunlight together, and be a family. There does not need to be nothing great arise from this calamity. The entire house of El can be ambassadors from a long dead world, not just your son!" He also had been a good salesman of scientific ideas.

Jor-El stroked his goatee. "Doz, I'd love to go with you, but it's not to be."

Doz-Du folded his arms. "Jor-El, why must you be a martyr? Why die with an arrogant world?"

"You don't understand, Doz. I'm not trying to die a glorious death. I'm terribly afraid that the council will detect a large magnetic field and interfere with it. All of us may merely die trying. As long as my son and you are alright, that's all I care about."

Doz wanted to hit his friend, try to snap some sense into him, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized Jor-El never came up wrong in debates. "So, you really think the ruling council will scan for distortions of any kind?"

His colleague nodded. "Your living quarters with you in them will probably pass through; but if we go with you, it'll leave a tell-tale signal." He leaned in and hugged his friend. "The planet's survived an awfully long time. Your source of power will have to come from the city's power supply."

"I've realized that. The only way I'm going to be able to take all of the power from the city at once, is when the groundquake hits. I predict the first one will hit early in the morning, tomorrow. The vibration sensor has been picking up tell tale compression signals." He shed a tear as he followed with another embrace. "I will never forget you, Jor-El. You were my biggest supporter against the council and my best friend."

A knock on the door above brought Jor-El's attention. "It's your brother, Zor-El! I have something I must discuss with you!"

As Jor-El turned to leave, Doz spoke, "I will always love you as if you were my brother." Jor-El turned and smiled one last time.

"Brother, what troubles you?"

Zor-El allowed Jor to get into the hover vehicle and take off, and then continued. "I've been trying to find my daughter Kara everywhere I can think of. She left this morning, and wouldn't tell us where she was going. It is so unlike her to do that. Help me locate her."

Jor-El shook his head. "By Rao. I know the planet is dying, but for your own daughter to run off?"

Zor-El bowed his head. "I hope this isn't the work of the phantoms."

"Oh, now don't start talking about those imaginary things, again."

Back in the lab, Doz-Du had set up all the final calibrations. His best friend had, foolishly and with genius level thought at the same time, turned down a chance to leave Krypton via a space-time distortion. The more he thought of it, however, the crazier Doz himself must have seemed. He could only, even after all his work, narrow the area to within a few million miles of the surface of the Planet Earth. He could only narrow the time area down to within a 137 year window. Any who would have heard him likely would have thought him just as insane. Nevertheless, he made the final touches. As soon as the first groundquake hit, the countdown to the field generating would begin. A countdown of exactly forty-seven seconds (he couldn't risk any longer) would then begin. The field was set to a his primary lab. He'd barricaded his door in case he appeared in space. Exactly a fifteenth of a second before the timer reached zero, a device would draw all the power going to Argo City, for a brief few moments to his household, and directly into the magnetic generator. His objects in the room that could move had been tied down.

Once he'd made sure everything had been arranged properly, he sat down and pondered his future. Everyone he knew would be gone. All he'd be taking with him were some science equipment and a lot of data crystals. He had no wife or children to think about. Perhaps it had happened for a reason, he figured. He also knew little of Earth, the planet he'd chosen. The only reason he chose Earth in the first place was because he'd found out that's where Jor-El would send his son, Kal. He sat in deep thought, resting his head down. He happened to hear soft breathing.

"Who's there?" he inquired. He prepared to attack an intruder, but quickly realized such would be unnecessary. "Kara?"

Kara Zor-El appeared from behind a tied down crate. "Please don't send me back to my father! I love him, but I really don't trust his technology considering the state his mind is in!"

Doz checked his clock. "If I was going to, it's too late now anyway. The quake should hit in less than a minute, then we've got forty-seven seconds before we either break free of this planet or die trying." He moved closer and embraced the daughter of El. "Kara, you really shouldn't sneak away from those who love you, but at least I'll be bringing someone with me instead of meeting your cousin alone." Within a few seconds, as predicted, the ground began to tremble. On cue, his timer began counting down, electricity moving into the magnets. "In case we break apart in space, take this breathing apparatus. It should protect us."

They sat down on the floor and tightly grasped each other's hand. The timer's numbers got lower and lower. Eventually, the value reached near zero. All at once, the largest city on Krypton, went dark for a no longer than a second. At nearly the same time, the small living quarters of Doz-Du disappeared in a flash of light, the crystal on which it was grown sheared away neatly. The ruling council focused so intently on the series of groundquakes they didn't even notice the temporal distortion.


	2. Chapter 2

Last Voices  
by Moonraker One

CHAPTER TWO – Throwing it all away...

The daughter of Zor-El and the scientist Doz-Du sat on the floor, clutching each other tightly, their breathing spheres over their heads, with fresh oxygen for inhaling, should the structural integrity of his living quarters be compromised. The timer had functioned exactly as programmed. A fifteenth of a second prior to zero, all the power in the city of Argo had drained into the magnetic field, empowering the temporal distortion. Exactly at the time of zero, the field had expanded loudly and invisibly, covering an area twenty-six centimeters from each edge of the house. They heard a loud boom and then rumble as the space-time continuum bent, folding an area of space near Earth onto the space where the house rested on Krypton, which sucked the living quarters through the space between. The rumble indicated that they were plummeting, presumably pulled by the Earth's gravitational field. Doz had no idea where in the area around the planet they appeared, nor did he know what relative time they were at; he had poured all his effort just to get this far. The fact that they could still tell they were alive indicated they had escaped the death of Krypton.

"Hold on!" Doz yelled, as the two of them started floating since the gravity had changed. "We're moving towards Earth!" He believed that the crystals grown that made up his living quarters would hold as it went towards the new planet that would be their home. After all, they were known for withstanding tremendous impacts.

"Doz, I'm scared!" Kara cried out. "I've never been in space before!"

"Just hold on to me, Kara! We haven't come this far just to die!"

They clutched onto each other for a nerve-racking twelve minutes until the ship crash landed and the two of them were flung hard against the walls of the living quarters. Both were alive, although the stuff inside the lab got thrown about and a few items severely damaged, and they felt relatively safe since they had arrived. The house had kicked up a sizable crater having burrowed several dozen feet into sand. The yellow sun, giving them new abilities, saved them from death, but both Doz and Kara passed out from the impact.

"Hey, I think they're awake now," a voice said, in English. The foreign language awoke Doz, who lifted a hand and wiped his eyes. He saw artificial lights above, shining on him, and several figures in his nearby vicinity. One was a dark skinned man wearing a green on black uniform with a lantern symbol emblazoned on his torso, a woman with a torso outfit that had symbolism he'd never seen before on it, and when he looked to his left, something he never thought he'd see again. He saw a man, about six feet tall, quite muscular (although not as much as he), with a red and blue caped body suit. What struck him, however, was the presence of the Kryptonian symbol of power.

Doz jerked to a seated position. "You, you wear the symbol of the house of El! Are you...the son of Jor-El?...!" The others were quite nervous about his presence, and the girl's.

A man in red with a yellow lightning bolt on his costume approached. "Uh, what is he saying? I've never heard that language before," the man uttered to the son of the house of El.

"You are correct," the son of Jor-El replied. "I am Kal-El. And you sir? Are you from Krypton!" Doz could read the emotion in the man's face. The man obviously felt a great deal of joy over learning of surviving Kryptonians, although he hid it very well. He looked much happier than the man to the far left, who wore a costume reminiscent of a bat, who looked extremely suspicious.

"Yes, Kal-El," Doz replied. "My name is Doz-Du. I utilized a magnetic field to distort time to allow my living quarters to enter Earth's relative field. I brought with me, someone you may find even more joyous than my presence. I have here, your cousin Kara Zor-El." He didn't know if Kal-El would be able to absorb all that at once, seeing as he didn't have a chance to inherit the scientific mind of his father.

"What is he saying?" Batman inquired. Superman turned away from Doz-Du. Doz thought it sounded weird that a Kryptonian would speak an alien tongue and Kryptonian would be a second language. The human accent in Kal's voice struck Doz as highly unusual. Batman shot glances at Doz every so often. The scientist didn't blame the man; obviously if an alien landed on Krypton he would be met with much suspicion.

Superman looked mildly peeved at the lack of trust by Batman. "Bruce, he said that the girl and he are survivors of Krypton who used some device to bend space, so that he could get here." He folded his arms. Batman's lack of trust made perfect sense to him, but it certainly didn't make things easier.

Batman appeared to be contemplating all the possibilities. More than likely, he was trying to figure out who could have fabricated this entire thing and had the resources to make it look real. "Does he and the girl have a name?"

"The man's name is Doz-Du," Superman replied. Doz didn't understand this language, but he certainly heard his name being said. "And the girl is my cousin, Kara Zor-El."

Doz popped his neck. "Kal-El, tell me something, what did you all do with my living quarters? You know, the vessel I came in?"

"Don't worry, Doz-Du. We salvaged almost everything from that vessel." He brought a glass of water, which Doz drank. "Tell me, you strike me as a scientist. Did you work with my father?" The question was very important to Superman. He had been alone for so long. Now he finally had the chance to talk to someone who knew him.

Kara sat up and looked afraid. "Don't worry, Kara, these are our allies now." He turned to Kal-El. "Your father was the closest thing to a brother I ever had. We worked together for many years, and he was quite possibly the nicest person I've ever met. His mind brought many scientific advancements to Krypton. I think it was he who first prompted me to start studying yellow sunlight's effects on our biology." He stopped his stroll down memory lane, and waited for non-verbal cues that told him Kal had caught up. He had a notorious habit of speaking ahead. He continued speaking about Jor-El.

"That guy reminds me of Sephiroth," the Flash said to Green Lantern.

"I don't play those child's toy video games, Flash. I have no idea what you're talking about." If John Stewart had one thing he didn't like about the Flash—and narrowing the list down to just one thing would be a chore—it would have to be the way Wally took very little seriously. It seemed as if you took a child and made him an adult, then gave him superhuman speed. Likening a Kryptonian survivor to a video game villain just furthered this belief.

Doz looked at the Flash. "What did that man say about me? I can't understand a word he's saying, but I know he was talking about me." Superman looked at Wally then back at his newfound friend. He rolled his eyes. Even the major player of the Justice League grew tired of Wally's immaturity. This was just one instance.

"He didn't say anything intentionally offensive," Kal replied, assuring Doz that no harm had been intended. "On Earth, our youths sometimes play these things called 'video games' and in one of them, there is a villain named 'Sephiroth,' and he thinks you bear a resemblance to him." Superman cocked his head to the right. He hated giving in to Flash's immature thought process, but the more he looked, the more he could see it. Well, that is, if you overlooked the fact that Sephiroth only looked partially real in the computer generated imagery, and Doz had real facial features. But yes, he could see it. Doz had long silver hair; he had emerald green eyes, plus, he didn't look old like the hair would have you believe.

The Kryptonian scientist actually let out a laugh. "I remind him of a figure from media designed for children's entertainment? Hahaha! That is absolutely hilarious!" He had heard some ludicrous theories from Jor-El that had to be proven either true or false, but of all the things he could remind the Flash of, a character from a game? That was a new one for Doz-Du.

Batman put an end to the humor. "Okay, I think it's time we got over the hilarity and got down to business. We've got new friends here; the first thing that needs to happen, is we need to get them adjusted to life down there on Earth. I think teaching English should be first, and then I want to learn from Doz-Du much of what he knows about science. Superman, if you could tell him this, I'd appreciate it." Superman relayed the concept to Kara and Doz. Doz initially seemed apprehensive about sharing Krypton's science with a human, especially since they were thousands of years behind his, but Kal convinced him.

Within a month, both Kara and Doz had picked up English, and human customs. Kara had expressed interest in becoming a superhero just like her cousin, and had trained intensely with Wonder Woman's fellow amazons to much interest from Superman. Doz, over time, convinced Batman that he was one of the good guys, and his knowledge of science and technology vastly exceeded that of even Bruce Wayne himself. The remnants of his living quarters from Krypton he set up in a dug-out area underneath a section of a hill several dozen miles from Metropolis. So it wasn't the far away Fortress of Solitude, but it would do. Batman even helped set up running water, electricity, and all the amenities, all the while hiding it as a "Wayne Enterprises side cost."

One evening Superman sat down in the living room of the Kryptonian scientist, and looked at the man's family crest. "So, Doz, what does your symbol refer to?" This time they both spoke in English. Superman had been told much earlier that the S he wore in actuality referred to Krypton and it's symbol of power. He wondered what the backwards lowercase K with dots at each point meant.

"That is the symbol of knowledge, Clark," he said. "You know, I know the whole secret identity thing, but can't I call you Kal in private? Anyway, I know you didn't come here to talk to me about what symbol I bear." Doz scratched underneath his t-shirt. Human clothes, this shirt and these "jeans" were very different than the body suits Kryptonians wore.

Superman looked ahead. "I...I want to know what my father's last words to you were, Doz." He had avoided this question for too long. Finally he could take no more.

Doz acknowledged his friend's want. "Clark, Kal, when I discovered that my old, abandoned project to bend space and time with electromagnetic fields would work with sufficient power, I couldn't have been more ecstatic. Finally I could get off that dying rock, and my best friend and his family could come. So the fateful day came, and I invited him over. I told him my plan, and he said that he wished he could come, but he couldn't."

"Why didn't my father want to go?"

"Because of my sake. If he went the field would need such energy that the ruling committee would notice, and prevent it from happening, and neither your cousin nor me would be alive today." He ran his hand upward to move his hair further out of his eyes. "Your father was, quite possibly, the most giving person imaginable. He never stopped trying to make sure you survived." He wondered how Kal-El would take the information. He also wondered how much like his father his personality was. People had referred to Jor-El as an idealistic fool, and these people mostly were the kind that never made any contribution to Krypton at all.

Superman had never felt happier; not only had he discovered that he wasn't alone, he also had someone who knew everything about his father that he wanted to know. "Doz, I can't thank you enough for being able to tell me about my father. I always wanted to know these things about him. You don't know how much this means to me." He looked around at the scientific equipment all around him. "So, tell me exactly how our powers work. I know what they do, but how do they work?" He laughed a bit and added, "and try to use 'dumb' terms. I'm not the genius you are."

Doz cleared his throat; putting it in so called "dumb terms" would prove to be a slightly difficult task, even for a Kryptonian mind. "I've done more research on yellow sunlight's effects on our physiology than anyone else. Let's start with the basics: processing sunlight. Cells have organelles; these are the organs of the cells themselves. You with me?" Kal nodded. "Our cells process solar energy into chemical energy. Red sunlight is processed into ordinary ATP, which provides nutrients to the cells, but doesn't give us any power. Yellow sunlight is processed into a type of chemical energy that is stored in the cell as potential energy.

"Each of our powers draws upon this stored potential energy. Our super strength is created by a part of the brain humans don't use. It's a form of tactile telekinesis; as our actions require more strength, our mind adjusts by telling the muscle cells to burn some of the potential energy into kinetic energy—the energy of motion—to increase the strength output. Our near indestructibility works by feedback. The moment something tries to damage our body, the mind detects where the injury would take place, and the cells in that area burn some of the potential energy to create a field of energy around them which resists damage. Our heat vision works by microwaves.

"Microwaves are part of the electromagnetic spectrum, and they heat up whatever they come into, that matches the frequency of that microwave. Our eyes can tune the microwaves emitted to the exact frequency of whatever you're looking at. Again, this is a result of burning some of the stored potential energy. You getting this?" He waited for another nod. "Good. X-Ray vision is not really X-ray radiation. That's a misnomer. In actuality, it is a result of our mind using psychic remote viewing to see beyond an obstruction. Telescopic vision is another psychic ability; our mind zooms in where our eyes can't. Super hearing is another mind ability. Super breath is a result of our chest muscles being able to super compress the air in our lungs, and when pressure increases, temperature decreases. Super speed is tied in with super strength. Did I leave any out?"

Superman thought for a moment. "Flight?"

"Ah. Thank you. Flight is a result of us burning some of our potential energy to give our body kinetic energy. Basically, we push energy out of ourselves."

"That makes sense. So, how does Kryptonite work?" This was great; now he would know exactly how all his strengths and weaknesses worked, giving him the information advantage. Batman always told him about brains over brawn, and now he realized how much it mattered. Before, all he knew was that they worked, not how. He would go and tell Kara this later.

"Kryptonite works in a similar way. Our organelles that process and store sunlight as potential energy, process kryptonite radiation into a poisonous substance that harms and later kills our cells. It causes us to lose our powers because our body has to burn a lot of its potential energy from the sun to combat the poison created by processed kryptonite radiation. That reminds me, I have to show you something." He got up and walked into the lab area a few feet away. Kal followed him. "Do you see the lead cases over there?" Superman nodded.

"So, what do you keep in those lead cases?"

"It's a good question, Kal. I'll show you." He opened one of the lead cases, and pulled out a stone, glowing brightly like the sun.

"Wow! What is that, Doz?" It looked like a miniature sun. Kal had never seen something like it before.

"This, Kal, is a fusion stone. I have many of them from my time on a yellow sun planet that used to be part of the Kryptonian empire, where I did all my research. They vary in size from a marble to a basketball. You put the stone into a hydrogen compression chamber, and the gas flows into the stone. Then, you expose it to high energy, and a fusion reaction like Earth's sun begins. For about 180 days it emits the light of our sun while containing the heat without melting. It is truly a remarkable mineral compound. It's natural magnetic field causes this to happen."

"So," Kal inquired, "it's like a miniature yellow sun?"

Doz nodded. "Yes. I used these to aid my escape from Krypton. One thing about the sun, Kal-El, is that it gives us our powers, but is so far away that the sunlight is weakened. We're not getting a concentrated dose of sunlight." He set the stone on a holder. "Now, let me show you what happens when we get a concentrated dose of yellow sunlight, like we are now." He went and grabbed a small lead container, and opened it. Both Kryptonians instantly felt intense pain and sick to their stomach. "I know you're in as much pain as I am, Kal. This is a very pure piece of Kryptonite."

Kal gritted his teeth in pain. "I...get it...but what's your point?" What was the meaning of the Kryptonite?

Doz set the lead container and its lid on the table. He then reached down and lifted his entire titanium work table, which easily weighed a thousand pounds. "We may be feeling sick and in a lot of pain from the Kryptonite's poisonous effects, but we've still got our powers. That's the power of the fusion stones. Giving us a concentrated dose of sunlight renders Kryptonite nothing more than a temporary inconvenience." He set the table down. He put the lid back on the case, and both felt better instantly.

Kal stared at the glowing stone. "That's a lot of power, Doz. But, that stone is the size of a football. How are you going to make it portable?"

Doz showed off the wrist band on his wrist. It had a leather strap with a tiny metal box on the top of it. He put the large stone back from the pedestal into the lead container. "I have several that are small. The one in this wristband is the size of an M&M. Because it is so small, it only burns for about thirty days. But, with this, I can be worry free of Kryptonite wherever I go. If I start to feel its effects, I just say, 'starlight,' and the mechanism opens the lead slot exposing the stone to my skin, and I'm suddenly powerful again. Want me to make you one?"

Superman shook his head. "As tempting as the idea is, I think I'll pass. Call me weird, but Kryptonite gives these humans a reason to trust me."

Doz caught on. "Because if you go rogue, they can just weaken and kill you, right?"

"Right. Oh, what happens when the stones run out?"

"They start burning helium and turn into a red star like Krypton's sun. Don't worry, I'm good about keeping two fresh when one starts to burn out. I just take the red burning one and refill it once it completely burns out." He scratched his head.

"So what are you going to do, Doz? You haven't really been out in public and you can't hide out here forever."

Doz shook his head. "I'm not hiding. I've just been perfecting several projects that have required all of my time. In fact, I'm going out in public today, just to get acquainted with everything. Metropolis is a big city, so where else to start?"

"But, you don't look like you could easily pass as human, Doz. No offense intended."

Doz laughed. "Just like your father. Rather sound stupid than offend someone. Yeah, you're right. You could easily pass as human. Under a suit, you just look like an ordinary guy that's been working out. Me, I grew my hair long in my twenties and it went prematurely gray at thirty. Here on Earth, I can't cut it, because it grows back in minutes, and I can't dye it, because it removes the dye. But thanks to the Flash's inadvertent outburst, I've got the perfect disguise." He went behind a curtain and changed. When he came out, Kal actually stared, wide-eyed.

"Doz, your disguise is...Sephiroth?"

The long, silver-haired Kryptonian gave a wide smile. "Isn't it perfect? It's got the dark leather look, the shoulder pads, the open chest with straps across in an X shape, I've got the design perfected! Plus, it's made of material that looks like leather but in fact allows sunlight through easily! With my gray hair and green eyes, no one will have any reason to think I'm not Sephiroth, or a Sephiroth impersonator!"

The more Kal thought about it, the more it made sense. The appearance was dead on. "That's a great costume. I don't think I've seen better. Furthermore, with your fusion stone wristband that's hidden under the gloves you're wearing, you won't lose your powers in the presence of Kryptonite, which will cause people to think you're not the same species as me. No one will think you're Kryptonian! You really thought this out, Doz!"

Doz-Du gave a slight grin. "I think it's time this world knew the arrival of Sephiroth!" He flew off.


	3. Chapter 3

Last Voices  
by Moonraker One

CHAPTER THREE – It's time

The cities on this planet were the kind of thing that Doz had been warning himself about. He'd gotten himself used to cities, or so he thought. Krypton cities looked vastly different than those of Earth. Structures grown from crystal were semi-translucent, allowing a feeling of unity. Structures on Earth, built from steel and glass, gave a sense of locking you out. Flying over Metropolis for the first time, in his disguise, people began looking at him. He even attracted some gasps and open-mouthed responses. He smiled; as long as they believed he actually was the character, it fulfilled his purpose.

He flew down to the street level. Walking down the street, he didn't have a specific destination in mind, merely attracting attention. If anything could be said about this planet, it would have to be the way things were arranged. The artificial arrangement made the sterile, lifeless surroundings contrast—at least in his mind—to the vast numbers of humans walking around, so vibrant. Moving about in the crowd caused the commotion he desired. People who knew nothing of the character he represented, were at least looking in awe of the talent of flight he displayed. He knew that Kara had taken the alias of Supergirl, and she would be in the area soon enough, but he would find some other things to do.

He found crime fighting to be somewhat fun. He knew he was doing something incredibly important, but for the most part, it amounted to little more than stopping bad guys while wearing a costume. After a short period of time, he found that imparting his Kryptonian science knowledge—without revealing his heritage—gave him a lot of notoriety.

In an office several blocks towards the very center of Metropolis, sat a prominent business man. The world knew him as a master manipulator and a living lack of morality. Lex Luthor took in the city as he inhaled a puff of smoke from the cigar, letting it out slowly. "As if the pest in the blue costume wasn't enough," he mused, quietly. "Now we have a video game villain come to life as a superhero. How cliché." He scratched an itch on his arm. He always knew the fates would not allow him to keep to himself. Plans he spent long periods of time laying the groundwork for, were destroyed so often by the boy scout. Now another figure posed a threat. He pulled a dart out of his drawer and threw it at a picture of Superman on his wall.

A red-haired woman walked into the office. "So, I see you've still got the man on your mind," she uttered, looking at the picture, then back at him. "Lex, come on. Give it up. But since you're not going to do that, tell me what plan doomed to fail you've got in mind now."

He sat down, grinning. "Lana, you know me better than that." He took his cigar and put it in his ashtray. "Okay, my new plan. I think we've got the coordinates on all of the world's largest supplies of Kryptonite." He widened his sly grin.

Lana rolled her eyes. "Let me guess, you're going to make a lot of weapons to destroy Superman." She folded her arms.

"No. That's where you're wrong. I'm going to sell Kryptonite to foreign governments and after that, just to the highest bidder. Let's have everyone have a silver bullet to kill Superman." He rested his head behind his hands. "That'll make people more secure about the big blue hope."

Lana laughed a bit. "Yeah, people DO fear what they can't control." She popped her neck. "But seriously, Lex, people have told you for the longest time to stop worrying about Kryptonians. It'll get you killed."

Lex pointed at her. "No." The fever in his voice, that made him the famous Lex Luthor, made Lana roll her eyes.. "You don't get it, do you, Lana? The only thing that's kept my head above water is that I don't stop until I accomplish what I set out to do!" He threw her a disk.

"So, what's this, Lex?"

His evil smile returned. "It's information on a time displacement that occurred several months ago that I've been investigating. I always believed that this 'Sephiroth' character is not actually the video game character, but rather, a Kryptonian." He pulled out a bottle of wine from a chamber in his desk, and poured himself a glass. "I know that, even if I reveal that information, no one is going to believe me, after all, he does represent a prominent figure, even if that figure is fictional. But at least I know for sure that he has the same mortalities as Superman. That way, we can finally get underway the process of obtaining the rights to all of the world's Kryptonite reserves."

Lana rolled her eyes. "Seriously, Lex, sometimes I wonder if Kryptonite was flowing through your veins."

Lex coyly held up his right hand with his Kryptonite ring on it. "Why would I need it flowing through my veins, when I've got this?" He stood up and approached Lana, wrapping his arm around her waist. "My dear, you are going to be in charge of this project while I'm holding down the fort. You will be given a specific LexCorp account, and several of my main advisors, and your job will be to negotiate to get the world's Kryptonite reserves under my control. Do you think you can be tenacious enough to bargain with foreign powers?"

Lana looked up at the head of the empire. "Lex, you have no idea how tenacious I can be."

He stole a kiss, then drew away. "Well said, my dear."

Several days into the career of the superhero side of Doz-Du, the pattern became somewhat easy. By day, the powerful Sephiroth would show up and take up the slack—because Superman could not, even with his speed, be everywhere at once—and by night, he would take to lecture halls and science labs at colleges all over the world, allowing for the human race to receive just a small peek into the vast scientific knowledge of Krypton. He knew he could not tell them everything he knew, because with true photographic memory, he had thousands of years of scientific advancement of one of the most powerful civilizations ever to exist. But, if he only told them things he felt they were ready to use, then perhaps he could feel safe knowing they wouldn't annihilate themselves with it.

One particular morning, as the scientist woke up in his humble cave-like abode forty miles outside of Metropolis, Kara stood at the entrance. She stepped in. Walking down the steps, she stood in front of a massive door. It looked like steel, although her microscopic vision proved it had been alloyed with a unique mineral. She stood amazed; Doz certainly knew his stuff. Startled by a sudden rumble, she stood back as the door slid open. "Sorry about the delay, Kara, it's just that I just woke up and I wanted to make sure all my equipment is still running in tip-top shape."

She pointed back at the entrance. "I didn't see any sort of surveillance equipment; how did you know I was here?"

Doz held out his hand. What looked like a fly sat in it. Upon closer inspection, it had to be a robot. "This, my dear Kara, is a remote camera bug. I have these keeping constant watch over every pathway in a twelve mile radius that leads to this cave. If I'm here, the screens show me if someone's coming. If I'm not here, I get a warning beep on my signaler."

Kara folded her arms. "You never stop, do you, Doz?"

He laughed. "A scientist? Stop? Never. Your father and uncle certainly never stopped."

"So, what's on the agenda after the crime-fighting today?"

Doz stepped out of his artificially-lit home and looked up at the sky. "After I'm through for the afternoon, I'm going to go up to the Justice League orbital station and get some more gravity distortion readings on the Earth. My primary fields of study were space-time distortions and energy manipulation."

Kara got in front of him. "Doz, I think I know what you're planning. I believe you're wanting to perfect the technology that enabled us to arrive here, so that you could go back to the space and time Krypton was and get more survivors, like my father and uncle." She looked concerned, because she believed such an act to be very fruitless and would serve no more than to give the scientist an emotional overload.

Doz put his hand on her shoulder. "Kara, I remember what your uncle said to me when I offered him a ticket home. He sacrificed everything because that's the kind of person he was. I merely want to perfect my technology; I would not dishonor your family's sacrifice by going on a very dangerous quest to bring them to Earth alive."

Kara smiled and kissed him on the cheek before flying away. "Thank you, Doz, that means a lot to me. You'd better get going, I think 'Sephiroth' is needed."

He nodded, and flew off. A half a world away, several hours later, Lana Lang sat in the passenger area of a expensive LexCorp plane. She looked at the packet of information in her hand. Being involved with anyone of the Luthor family carried it's own problems and benefits, and she currently experienced the main one; they always believed in having others do their dirty work for them. Certainly, Lex's idea of gaining control of the world's Kryptonite reserves in order to more actively pursue the goal of making Superman's life miserable, wasn't something he hadn't already tried about a million times. Still, he could at least talk to the foreign powers himself. She had information on each of the foreign bodies she would be visiting. For a few years now her relationship with the head of the infamous corporation had paid off. She'd gotten used to things like this.

"Ma'am?" the pilot called out from the cockpit. "Get ready; we'll be landing shortly." He prepared the mechanisms for the craft's descent. The way down proved to be easy enough. The landing strip down below held several dozen men around a man garbed in what looked to be Muslim robes. Lana, looking down as the plane touched down, saw that he was of Persian heritage, not Arabic like she would have otherwise suspected. The ladder unfolded from the interior and she stepped down onto the asphalt of the strip. The wind blew sand, but fortunately, it wasn't severe, and died down quickly. She shook hands, and they began walking towards the first of a series of humvees.

"Tell me something," the man pried, his accent thick, "what has your boss sent you to offer us this time? I hope more than just money, because we get money all the time from...sources."

Lana put on a phony smile. "Yes...sources." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, we've got the first of a series of plans for weaponry that will be manufactured out of the Kryptonite reserve that exists on your territory. But first, yes, we have more money for you." She hated dealing with terrorists. They always wanted more from you. She had a plan, but it hung on her saying exactly the right words at the right time. Lex would be much better at it than her right now, but she knew his plan. All of the people she'd meet on this little soirée would only serve to test her in his eyes; to prove if she would be worthy of being in the "Luthor" circle of trust.

"So, let me get this straight, you're going to buy our Kryptonite, make the weapons, then sell them back to us?" He laughed; she would die and serve as a point to prove to Lex if she didn't start impressing him soon.

She coyly chuckled a bit; it was a bargaining trick to seem confident when you were tense inside. "No, we're going to get the Kryptonite, sell them to foreign governments, then let you steal them from the governments. LexCorp try to sell something we got from you right back to you in a new form? Who are we, the United States government?" The joke would serve as a bait. She prayed he would take it.

"Hahahahaha, you are funny, Ms. Lang." he readjusted his turban, then said something to his colleague in the front seat, who also laughed.

She turned away from them and grinned. They took her bait. Fuck you Lex Luthor. Turning back, she put on a business face. "So, are we willing to be on bargaining terms?"

He donned his "I'm going to kill you" face. She knew it was a bargaining trick and he was in fact, full of shit. She had completely taken over the deal with him taking her bait, and both of them knew it. She had the power; the worst he could do would be to turn her down and/or kill her. "I think we can arrange something. What are you willing to offer?"

She lifted and opened the briefcase she had carried. "Twenty million. Ten million for every ounce of Kryptonite, and another ten for your men to load it onto 'American' transport ships, and for it to be shipped to an 'American' base." She reached in her suit's interior jacket pocket, and pulled out an unloaded Desert Eagle gun made out of solid gold. "And this is for if you 'conveniently forget' the identities of the 'American soldiers' who loaded the ships." She handed him the gun.

He winked at her. She would have jumped for joy. Fifteen minutes and she'd sealed the deal. Fuck you again, Lex Luthor. "I think we can agree to that Ms. Lang." He shook her hand. "I do, have one more request, however. What assurance do we have that you won't immediately contact the United States government and tell them about us?"

She looked at him closer, for effect. "Sir, you do realize, of course, that the U.S. Government would just bomb a fake location, and tell the people they hit you anyway, right?" They both shared a laugh.

Lex Luthor sat in his office, typing information on his paperwork. For a company mostly built on illegal activities, there was a lot of paperwork for things that shouldn't even be done. He listened as Lana talked, because the briefcase had a transmitter in it, and if that died, so did her suit. Her conversation had gone almost as well as if he himself had done it. He grinned. She almost could equal him in manipulation. Fuck you Lana Lang. He picked up his cigar and smoked more of it. Pretty soon, he would have his supplies of Kryptonite. The ring on his finger glistened in the sunlight; his symbol of protection against the big blue threat made him feel in control.

That evening, Doz-Du took a break from his home in the cave. He walked around in the Justice League Space-station, while Batman looked at a screen. The two of them worked on a series of problems involving meteorites. "Doz, what do you think of the results?"

Doz contemplated the numbers. "Well, according to the data, we're going to have a meteor shower over the middle of South America. What the radiation data you gathered tells me, is that we're dealing with Kryptonite."

Batman looked at him. "But Doz, this wavelength and frequency don't fit any form we've seen before. What could this mean?" He knew the answer already.

The scientist folded his arms. "It's a new type of Kryptonite." Doz knew Batman was testing him on that one. However, he knew something Batman hadn't figured out, due to the human's comparatively low amount of scientific knowledge. "But, based on the readings, it won't affect Kryptonians."

The Gotham resident did a double-take, which wasn't something he usually did. "What do you mean? All Kryptonite affects your kind."

The Kryptonian scientist shook his head. "No. The organelles in our cells that enable our powers turn only certain frequencies and wavelengths into chemicals our bodies use. These readings will pass right through us and it won't affect anything. But, it might affect something else." He moved some of his silver hair out of his eyes. "I doubt it'll affect humans, but if it won't affect us, I won't know what it'll do until we get a sample of some."

"So," Batman thought out loud, "I'd better be there. Do you think you can help me get that meteor?"

Doz raised an eyebrow. "Like I'd miss an opportunity to study something I've never seen before?" He grinned. "An opportunity like this only shows up once in a long time. We might not get another opportunity like this one."

The dark knight thought about the ramifications of the meteor shower. "Now, here's a trick. We have to somehow make sure that there aren't any civilian fatalities without instigating a panic, or bringing in the Kryptonite freaks." He'd gotten used to situations involving meteorites that contained Kryptonite. The problem was, this one wasn't going to fall in Smallville or Gotham. The relatively far away South America would prove to be a new can of worms entirely.

"I believe that's your kind of problem to deal with, Bruce," Doz coyly replied. "I only take care of the science sort of stuff." He approached the screen. "So, when's it supposed to strike?" He had the numbers analyzed mentally before even Batman could have guessed. It gave him the opportunity to mentally give the Gotham city hero a test of wits. Something else, he figured, that would not happen often.

"It looks like it'll strike approximately two weeks from now." He popped his knuckles and got up from the console. "Make sure you get whatever equipment ready."

Doz folded his arms. "Do you really think I wouldn't be prepared?" He put a hand on Batman's shoulder. "You really should get used to others being as good at calculating as you are." He got Batman to smile, which he knew did not occur often.

The days passed relatively fast for the Kryptonian scientist. He used his knowledge of Kryptonian technology to build a device that would emit radiation of custom frequency and wavelength, just like the one that Jor-El had utilized in his laboratory. Using samples of tissue of small mammals nearby, he wanted to see what would happen when radiation of types of Kryptonite not yet discovered would do when exposed to non-Kryptonian tissue. He lifted a voice recorder to his mouth. "Test number one hundred twenty-seven; spectrum Kryptonite radiation exposure to terrestrial tissue sample from a creature known as a 'squirrel,'" he explained. "The exact frequency and wavelength correspond to samples not yet discovered. Due to the nature of Kryptonite radiation, there is a broad spectrum of wavelengths that are obviously Kryptonite, but may not necessarily be seen on Earth due to the rarity of higher energy samples. Green Kryptonite is at the lower end of the Kryptonite Energy Spectrum, having a KES reading of one point one seven. The sample from the meteor which will strike will have a KES of eleven point six two five. The highest sample yet discovered is golden Kryptonite, which thankfully does not exist in quantities on this planet, for it permanently destroys a Kryptonian's ability to process solar energy. It has a KES of ten point two five. We have no idea what this sample will do, but that's what this experiment will determine."

He put a small piece of the tissue, having been stripped of its fur, into the large, lead-lined radiation chamber. It sat in a crystal case and the emitter descended from a cord from the ceiling inside the chamber. Doz looked through a camera that fed results to a computer screen. He input the precise frequency and wavelength, and turned a red dial. The emitter glowed in several places as a thin beam of particle emission shot from the tip and into the crystal chamber, brilliantly illuminating the entire chamber. He clicked off the device, and waited for the radiation readings to descend to safe levels. "Particle emission complete," he recorded. The lead suit he put on allowed him to enter the chamber and he opened the case. "Beginning microscopic analysis." He scraped a small gathering of cells off and put them on a slide. He'd done this experiment on a wide variety of Kryptonite energies, including those above and below the threshold of what the meteor would contain.

The slide fed into a device. A view of the inside of the cells appeared on the computer screen. He adjusted the focus with the keyboard. "Examining cells...the energy equivalent to what the meteor will have is apparently poisonous to terrestrial life, yet as studies of my own cells have determined, passes through Kryptonian cells with no effect whatsoever. According to calculation, a being poisoned with this type of radiation, will have roughly a week to survive." He recorded all the data into a crystal, which he then copied onto traditional Earth based data storage. Batman would have to hear about this.

Lana walked into Lex's office. "Ok, Lex, I believe I've managed to get about ninety percent of the world's Kryptonite storages under your control. The actual foreign governments were the hardest to get to fall in." She threw a manila envelope on his desk with papers in it. "They'll be shipped the usual illegal way."

Lex threw her a smaller envelope. "I knew you were a good choice, Lana. Thanks to your efforts, we're going to see LexCorp enter an entirely new era of success!" He threw a dart at his picture of Superman. "And the boy in blue, his cousin, and that super powered cosplayer, are going to find out exactly how difficult it is to be special when lots of people you don't want having Kryptonite, have Kryptonite."

Lana opened the envelope, and found a roll of hundred dollar bills, along with a piece of paper that said, "vacation money," on it. She looked at him. "A hundred thousand dollars, vacation money. Are you trying to get rid of me for the weekend, Lex?"

Lex folded his arms. "Why don't you take a nice vacation? I've got business to take care of, so you go have fun." He remembered something. "Oh, one more thing." He opened a drawer, and gave Lana a piece of paper. "This is a rather nice hotel, that I have 'connections' to. You can stay there and have a nice time. It's in Brazil. I heard you Brazil is nice this time of year."

Lana rolled her eyes. "I get the hint, Lex. You don't want me seeing any of what you're going to do, in case I have to testify against you."

Lex toyed with her. "Is that why you think this is?"

"Lex, give me more credit than that." She left.

On a hillside overlooking Metropolis, the would-be Sephiroth sat in a lawn chair, taking in the evening sun. Superman flew down and took a seat. "Nice view, it is at this time of day," Doz noted. Superman nodded his head.

"Yeah, Doz, that's one thing I'll never get tired of. Metropolis might be just another city, but the steel and glass does shimmer as the sun goes down." He scratched his head a moment. "I know you and Batman are working on something big. I know you don't want too many people in on it, but can you at least tell me?"

Doz glanced over. "We discovered there's going to be a meteor strike in South America, and it contains a new type of Kryptonite we've never seen before. Here's the most interesting thing; it won't affect us, Kal. It will be lethal to terrestrial life."

Superman furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "How can irradiated rock from Krypton affect life on Earth?"

Doz looked left and right, slightly confused at the question. "Kal, radiation is supposed to effect all life. I believe that if humans were exposed to green Kryptonite long enough, they'd suffer radiation sickness."

"Ah. That makes sense. What do you need me to do?"

"Not start a panic. You can come along to make sure that nothing goes wrong, but really, I think Bruce and myself can take care of this. After all, I'm a scientist."

They went back to looking at the setting sun again. "What do you think of Earth compared to Krypton, Doz?"

"Well, Kal, Krypton was a lot less colorful than your planet. Coming to Earth, I see a lot more colors than I would back home. I also see your species has a lot more potential for variety than ours does. Krypton fostered a lot of the same exact patterns over and over again." He heard something on his super-hearing. "It sounds like a carjacking is taking place. I'll take this one, Kal. Nice talking to you!" He flew off.

A phone rang on a desk. "Daily Planet, this is Lois Lane speaking, how may I help you?"

Lana held up her cell phone. "Lois! This is Lana Lang. I just wanted to ask you if you wanted to use your week's vacation next week. After all, I know a great place and I didn't want to think my job sent me on my way alone."

"Thank you very much, Lana, but I believe I'm up to my ass in potential stories here, I have to get something that will drive up sales published soon." Even the great Lois Lane, the image of the workaholic woman, got tired of story after story. She wanted to say yes, but she knew Perry White. He would not give her the opportunity she wanted. That and the fact that she didn't usually spend money on vacations very much.

"Well, if you get something published before this Friday, and you have a change of mind, call me."

Lois put the phone down on the hook. The piece she had been working on for several days now involved corporate corruption, notably, cases in which one person holds voting power over their company's board of directors. The primary thought that came to mind was LexCorp—although that company's records were harder to crack than adamantium. She looked over the article for what had to be the eighth time, knowing full well she was not going to find any mistakes. She leaned back from the computer a moment, and thought about the situation. _I'm just stalling for time here; I know this article will print and sell, so why don't I take up Lana's offer?_ She stood up and hit the print command on her computer.

"Come in," Perry White barked, not looking up from the latest batch of shots from Jimmy Olsen. The kid and his damn inability to get just the right pictures, White lamented over. What was so hard to understand? If the paper needs shots that are emotionally loaded, then what kept the boy from getting shots that were emotionally loaded? He swore, one day he was going to shoot that kid for not getting the damn pictures he wanted.

"Chief," Lois uttered. With that one word, White looked up at her for just a moment, then went back to lamenting the poor photographs in his hand. She knew to continue talking. "I have the article on corporate corruption, just like I promised."

He examined her with an eyebrow raised. "What, no tenth time looking it over first? There's obviously something on your mind, Lois. What do you want?" She expected this train of thought, because that was vintage Perry White.

She handed him the stack. "Well, sir, I've been thinking. I still have vacation time I haven't cashed in from last year, do you think I could get next week off?" She expected one of several things. She expected either: uproarious laughter, smoke to come out of his ears, or, a combination of the two.

He shifted his eyebrow being raised from one to the other. Then he examined the article. "I suppose if this is complete then you have your vacation, but you'd better get right back to the grindstone as soon as you get back the Monday after next!" He cross-analyzed the writing; it held up to her usual stuff. The sources could stand to be better referenced, but still, Lois Lane never managed to let him down.

She walked out of his office and got Lana Lang on her cell. "Hey, Lana? Good news. I've had a change of heart, and so has my boss. I'll meet you there. Say, where are we going, exactly?" She had not known the girl from Smallville to splurge; she must have come into some money. Otherwise, the girl would stay grounded; this is why Lois trusted her.

Lana smiled. "I've been given some vacation money from my job, and told to have a good time. Which is slang for, 'get the fuck out until we need you again.'" A mutual laugh could be heard over the line. "I have this nice hotel and spa in mind in Brazil."

Up in a station floating high above the Earth, three superheroes kept a close eye on a meteor. "Sometime next week, we'll be seeing this puppy touch down," Batman stated. "Doz, you're obviously going to take a lot of the samples and use them to study. Superman, I suppose you can make sure that no one gets in the way." The dark knight and the Kryptonian scientist exchanged looks, telling the other they knew what they had to do.

"Not really," Superman admitted. "If you have one Kryptonian on the job, I trust you can take care of it, Batman, and you too Doz. I don't think I can leave Metropolis during the events scheduled to take place in the park. Too many possibilities for people to get hurt. Tell me, though, where is it going to land?"

Doz turned to Kal-El, and did more mental calculations. "Due to its speed and rotation, it has been painfully difficult to calculate exactly. But, taking into account friction due to Earth's atmosphere, and the planet's gravitational fields, I believe we can safely assume it will touch down somewhere in a hundred mile radius around a center point in the rain forests of Brazil."


	4. Chapter 4

Last Voices  
by Moonraker One

CHAPTER FOUR – Discoveries unknown...

"Kryptonite spectrum radiation exposure test number sixty-one," Doz enunciated into a voice recorder which transcribed onto an organic crystal. This had been one in a very long series of experiments to see the effects of radiation of unknown spectrums of Kryptonite. The Earth would very soon be visited by a type of the irradiated alien rock that would possibly change things dramatically. "Spectrum frequency rating is 15.8, representative of a sample of very high energy Kryptonite sample, not yet seen terrestrially." He put an animal tissue sample into the energy chamber. "Squirrel flesh sample, beginning exposure in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1..." a brilliant flash illuminated as a direct burst shot out of the emitter. Once the computer readout read that the crystals had absorbed and dissolved the radiation, he opened the door and removed the sample.

His communicator resounded. He lifted the head piece. "Yes, Bruce?"

Batman had a readout on the meteor, on the screen in front of him. "Doz, can you crunch the numbers I'm about to send you? The data for the meteor has changed and I can't figure this out." He pressed a button.

Doz received the information. He gave it the once over before he would do the actual math. "It looks as though we've got a difference of only six hours. It seems the object's speed and trajectory haven't been affected. I'll send you back the other calculations." he sat at his main console and did the math, then sent it back to Batman. "I'll talk to you later, Bruce." Hanging up, he headed back to the microscope console. Looking at the screen, the image in front of him gave him startling results. "Strange," he recorded, "this frequency and wavelength of Kryptonite radiation results in a very specific type of terrestrial result; DNA is restructured via genetic shattering and reshaping, that leads to cells building two organelles usually seen only in Kryptonian cells. This may result in Kryptonian effects being displayed in the host organism." Such, he knew, could lead potentially to even bigger results than the meteor on its way. Based on what he just saw, a person could theoretically develop near perfect abilities of his species' nature, since the organelles necessary are developed. He clicked off the recorder, then put the crystal in a box with a label on it.

His alarm went off. "Who's there?" he asked, although his screen gave him the answer.

"It's me," Supergirl spoke. "I need you to recharge my fusion stone. I can't use it since it's run out of hydrogen and is starting to burn helium, producing red sun effects. I've got it closed in its concealer right now." She removed her wrist band with the small lead container attached. He took it from her.

"I've got some fresh hydrogen separated from water, so you're in luck," he replied. Carefully, he took the entire device, and put it in a large chamber. "Starlight," he said, the code word opening the small lead box. The mechanical arm inside the chamber removed the small red glowing stone out of the box and into the energy dispersal unit. It took about four minutes for the device to remove the fusing helium from the stone and disperse it into the atmosphere. On cue, Doz attached the hydrogen tank to the intake, and the device compressed the gas into the stone and a burst of energy kicked the fusion process into action, and then the stone glowed like the yellow sun once more. A movement of the arm later, and he handed the device back to Supergirl. "Here you go, I recharged your portable sun, Kara. Now you can be immune to Kryptonite for another 180 days." He sat down for a moment, then rested his hands behind his head.

She wrapped the wrist device into place. "So, what do you miss most about Krypton?" Her question might have seemed sudden, but she'd actually wanted for a reason to talk about it for days now. It had been a week since she last saw him, thanks to a plot by an alien race that landed in China. In reality, she enjoyed having someone else who remembered Krypton to talk to.

He looked at her. "In reality, Kara, the thing I miss most isn't the planet. It's just a heap of rock. I miss the people the most. But not all of them, just my friend Jor-El and my other friends." He wondered how much of the girl's past she missed. She was, after all, much more social than he had been. His days were spent in the pursuit of science; the most socializing he did involved seeing hologram stories in the theaters with his friends and discussing theories with Jor-El. "What do YOU miss about Krypton, Kara?"

She sat down. "I had lots of friends that should've gotten off Krypton. I remember I knew a bunch of people in Kandor when it was bottled up by Brainiac." She started tearing up. "It's just not fair." He held her as she leaned in. "Don't cry, Kara. I'm sure you'll be seeing them again." Poor girl, he thought. She had more personal ties than he did. He could barely understand the pain she went through, as she lost her parents AND her friends.

Lois sat down in her room. She packed her suitcase with at many of her best casual outfits. It took her awhile to remember what casual felt like, since nearly every moment of her adult life she'd worn business attire. She went into her closet and tried on one of her summer dresses. It felt much more comfortable than she remembered when she wore it during her last trip two years ago. Perhaps this chance given to her by Lana would prove to be more therapeutic than she otherwise imagined. According to the calendar, it would only be one more day until the vacation.

Lana called her up on the phone. "So, did you pick up your plane ticket yet?" She looked at the time on her ticket, and found it slightly amazing that she managed to get first class seats in such a prime location as she did. Of course, it always paid to have a connection to such a name as "LexCorp."

Lois rifled quickly through her purse, displaying momentary fear before finding her intended item. "Yeah, I stopped by the airport just this morning and made sure to grab it. Thank you again for inviting me along." She sat down on the lid of her suitcase, to make sure it closed tightly. "I haven't had a vacation since two years ago."

Lana rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know what it's like being squeezed between two major loves, and both of them are related to work. Sometimes, though, you just have to get away." She hated using Lex's dirty money for personal enjoyment, but at the same time she knew the danger of angering someone who had virtually unlimited resources at their disposal. Sometimes she wondered what it was about him that drew her to him. Perhaps it amounted to nothing more than the allure of being in a relationship with someone possessing power. "Does your husband know about your trip?"

Lois laughed a bit. "Clark? He seems to be a bit preoccupied, and I don't know why. When he gets involved in something that takes up all of his time, it's a lot like I become a side item." She didn't know if Lana would grasp the concept, because Lana had a tendency to be a little more mobile.

"Oh, believe me. You have NO idea." She laughed a bit. "I'm dating a man who doesn't understand the meaning of 'communication' in a relationship." Clark always had been a person who cared deeply about whomever he came into contact with, even those that were his foes. If Lex Luthor were to give up his evil ways—even after all he'd done—Clark would consider him a friend again. Lois had a tremendous amount of luck on her side more than she realized. "You're actually in a better situation of the two of us in the relationship aspect."

Lois tilted her head for effect. "Yeah, I'd agree with you on that one. Thanks for calling. I'll see you at the airport tomorrow, bye." She clicked the receiver.

"See you tomorrow, bye." Lana hung up.

Doz sat down and looked at the screen. "Yeah, I'd say the meteor is still on the proper course. Despite the effects that we've seen so far, it doesn't seem to want to shift course. I think the centrifugal force of its rotation combined with the kinetic forces that have taken effect on it, have set its course pretty much in stone."

Bruce punched up the schematics next to the image of the meteor. "All of your calculations seem to be correct, Doz. It's amazing; I never would have been able to do any of that."

"It's all mathematics, Bruce, it really isn't as hard as you think. I just have the advantage of having an eidetic memory for being a Kryptonian."

The dark knight leaned against the main console. "I tell you, your species always has been interesting. Just when you think you discover all the known powers, suddenly you come up with photographic memory." He pulled a disk out of the drive. "You don't mind if I look over this a bit at home, do you?" Doz gave a head shake as a simple answer. "I know you've crunched all the numbers and we've about reached all the conclusions we can ostensibly conclude, I still feel like I need to look something over before we're done."

Doz folded his arms. "Bruce, I'm sure we'll have enough problems as is, making sure humans don't get too close to the crash site, so as to avoid poisoning and casualties. Have you created a lead suit to shield you using the parameters I sent you? You're going to have to alloy a certain mixture of metals to block this radiation."

Bruce nodded. "Yes, and thanks again for your help. I'm amazed you've figured out this in such a short time. It's just a bit rewarding to think that there's someone who can out-think me who's on our team." He put the disk into a slot in his utility belt for safe keeping. "I'll be heading back to the cave. Looks like I'm in for another long night."

Kara rolled her eyes as she threw another criminal down at the front entrance to the Gotham police headquarters. _I really hate standing in for Bruce when he's on another major project, _she thought. _Gotham is like a standing monument to crime, even with all he's done to lower the rate_. She really didn't understand how an ordinary human could keep up with the seemingly impossible amounts of physical activity that the dark knight could achieve. _I have the ability to move at tens of thousands of miles per hour, and there's Nightwing and Robin also out on patrol, and yet I still don't think I'll be able to stop all the crime before the morning sun._ She shook her head as she flew off to swoop down on yet another beating a group of thugs were engaging in down an alleyway.

"I have a question," she said to Nightwing, "how do you do this every night? No, forget that; how does Batman do it, when he's older than you?" She said, as she air-lifted a man off of a bleeding victim. She threw him next to a police car where he fell unconscious. Nightwing knocked two would-be ATM robbers out with his staff.

"It's hard, but it's easy after you get used to it," he replied. "It'd help a lot to have a limitless amount of energy like you Kryptonians, but we can't complain. Batman's a special case, though; it's as if the desire to live up to what his parents would have wanted propels him forward. I might not have left under the best of terms, but I do respect the man."

Kara took off, after waving at him, to take care of a bank robbery. T_hose guys are nuts. I've got superhuman powers and this is a bit much for me. I don't get how they can do it. No wonder Batman is always so grumpy_. She arrived on scene in less than a second. "Hey guys, you think you could, maybe not rob the bank?" her biting sarcasm vocal, she waited for someone to start shooting. Sure enough, the group of six unloaded their pistols and one shotgun at her, doing nothing. "Yeah, um, why do you always shoot at someone wearing the S? You never learn." She took off at super-speed and knocked them out, rounding them up and drawing them into a circle and tied them up with rope.

She flew above the building line, and saw the sun preparing to rise. _Ok, it seems as though the sun is rising. I'll be able to quit soon._ She dashed off at top speed for what she thought would be the last arson of the evening. She hoped that, from this point forward, either Batman or Superman would be able to handle Gotham. She doubted that, even with her limitless energy, that she could deal with another night of a crime every several seconds. Newfound respect had made its way to her, as she stood amazed on several occasions during the evening that a human devoid of superhuman abilities would attempt such a thing as to try to prevent crime in this god-forsaken city.

Lois woke up at 7 in the morning just as her alarm warned her so. Groggily letting out a yawn, the ever-busy reporter immediately gave herself a good slap to wake up, then got up to properly wash herself off for the trip. Her clothing for the morning hung as one complete outfit rather than individual pieces—it saved her time sorting through clothes. She grabbed the casual piece and hung it on the door to the bathroom as she stepped into the shower. Throwing her evening gown and panties off, she entered the stream of hot water, washing herself.

Clark entered just a few minutes later, quickly changing from his Superman outfit into normal clothes. "Just got in, honey!" He prepared to get into his Clark Kent reporter disguise, when he noticed the suitcase, and her outfit hung on the door. "Hey, Lois? Are you going somewhere?" He knew her daily routine; usually, she didn't have anything casual out. Normally, he remembered, she would have one of her many similar-colored business suits prepared to go, but this time she had an outfit she only wore on vacation.

"I'm just going on a short vacation with Lana," she said from the shower. "She had some extra vacation money and thought to invite me." She finished washing, and turned off the water, stepping in to dry off.

"That was awfully nice of her." He picked up his briefcase and prepared to head off to work. "Say, where are you going?" He took notice of the time and began heading for the door.

"She had this spa and hotel in mind in Brazil, I think it'll be lovely." She toweled herself off and prepared to head out.

"Just be careful," Clark replied, remembering Doz's words. "I don't want you getting hurt." He hoped his words wouldn't spark her curiosity, that she would merely chalk his statement up to him being overly protecting.

She rolled her eyes as she opened the door just enough to grab her outfit from off the knob. "Don't worry about me, Clark. It isn't like I need to be saved _all_ the time." She began changing into her outfit. "Who knows? Maybe I'll be able to go an entire week or so without the world crashing down on me!"

Clark took the biting sarcasm in stride. "Well, I've got to get down to the grindstone, I hope you have a good time, Lois!" He stepped out. He would make sure to keep an ear open. Her privacy would be respected, but that didn't mean he couldn't keep track of her. After all, he'd nearly lost her on many an occasion. Still, both Doz and Bruce were on the task of monitoring the asteroid, so surely she'd be fine under their watch.

Lois, upon finishing dressing, exited the front door to see Kara waiting for her. She smiled as the cousin of her husband descended to right in front of her. "Hey, Supergirl! Here to see me off?" The teenage Kryptonian approached, handing her a drinking receptacle made out of organic crystal.

"Yeah, I figured I'd offer you a lift to the airport," she explained, taking notice of people around. She couldn't refer to Doz by name. "A friend of ours gave me this to give to you. He said it's a special type of beverage that'll take the ease off of the jet-lag you're sure to encounter." She unscrewed the lid for her human friend.

Lois examined the dark brown, cold liquid. "I'm sure it'll work if he says it will." She emptied the container with several gulps. "It tastes good. Tell him thank you." She handed the empty container back to Kara. "You know? I think I'll take you up on that offer. It'll give me a head start on the flight." Stepping closer and taking Kara's hands, the reporter found herself flown at a decent rate of speed towards the airport, arriving in less than a minute. Supergirl set Lois down gently. "I'll see you soon, girl!"

Kara waved. "I hope you have a good time! Bye!"

A familiar face waved from a few hundred feet ahead. "Lois! You made it! I was worried you'd get stuck in traffic and miss the flight!" Lana shouted. Lois ducked the rest of the crowd and got to her friend relatively quickly. "The traffic was crap; you'd think early morning traffic would be easy enough. But I had to get up almost an hour earlier than usual to beat this horrid early morning gridlock." She walked along with her friend through the security, stopping for all the necessary checkpoints.

"Come down; I'm making final preparations before we head out," Bruce explained, not taking his eyes off of the computer, which monitored robots that were analyzing his departure plane. He watched as the machines moved over the various parts of the internal anatomy of the billion dollar stealth jet, and his friend Doz approached with equal regard.

"You humans might have primitive technology, but you certainly have a knack for adapting quickly," Doz complimented, brushing his long silver hair out of his face. He had provided Bruce with just the right amount of technology. He trusted Batman implicitly, but knew enough sharing of knowledge—no matter how good the person was—could lead to tragedy. As such, Batman had the honor not to ask for what information the Kryptonian scientist hid from him. It was an unwritten rule between them. "So, we've got all the data we need, now all we have to do is wait for the thing to strike."

Bruce looked up. "Doz, were you able to pinpoint an exact location?"

Doz gave a disappointed frown as he shook his head. "No. I used some Kryptonian technological methods you don't know yet, but even still, it is impossible to get a better guess than within thirty-six miles of a possible epicenter."

"That's still better than what I was able to come up with," Bruce replied. "So, what kind of civilian situation are we looking at?"

"If parts of it split off and go in separate directions, we might be looking at a containment issue. However, if it crashes without fragmenting too severely, we might not have to evacuate too many people." He took a seat next to Batman. "I found out that Lana Lang was taking Lois Lane on a trip to a spa and hotel that, if the asteroid fragments, could lead to the general vicinity becoming contaminated. Fortunately, I think they'll be out of harm's way due to the location of the wildlife some five miles away."

Bruce turned his chair to face his friend. "I'm guessing you didn't tell Clark of the danger because he might panic."

"Of course, Bruce. I'm smarter than that. Besides, Lana definitely won't want to endanger herself by approaching."

"Yes," Bruce reminded, "but Lois, knowing her personality, might want to get close to investigate."

Doz leaned back in his chair. "I know, which is why I took the opportunity to 'immunize' her to its effects. She thinks she just drank an elixir I threw together to spare her from jet lag. Instead, it will make her physiologically immune to this new specimen's lethal radiation."

Bruce cocked an eyebrow, intrigued. "How did you immunize her?" He thought a moment. "Wait a minute, you didn't..."

Doz interrupted him. "I HAD to, Bruce. It was the only way to get her immune. I know Clark would panic less if he knew what I'd done, as opposed to knowing she died of radiation poisoning."

Batman pleaded his case. "Yes, but imagine what Clark is going to think when he knows..."

"Bruce, please! Do you think I _wanted_ to? It was the only way. I feel already like I've opened Pandora's Box just by doing it. Don't make me feel worse."

The dark knight turned back to his console. "I guess you're right. It is the lesser of two evils. So, curiosity's sake, how did you give her a Kryptonian physiology?"

"You remember how I told you there's a lot of frequencies and wavelengths on the Kryptonite Spectrum than samples? I simply found a specific value—fifteen point eight to be exact—that caused the cells that were exposed to it to grow Kryptonian solar processing organelles with no negative side effects. Then, I grew a crystal that emitted that particular type of radiation, and crushed it into powder, mixing the powder into a caffeinated beverage. But she's not a true Kryptonian, Bruce. She still has her human DNA, and her human cell physiology."

Batman looked over, very interested. "So, she's a human with Kryptonian powers? Give me an example as to what's different."

Doz thought a moment. "Ok. Let's see. You know how our freezing breath works? The basic principle of the temperature of a gas decreasing as the pressure increases; our lungs can super-compress the air inside so as to dramatically lower the temperature of it. Once we want to use our freezing breath, an extra flap of tissue closes the bronchiole tubes so as to allow the air to be compressed without being forced out of the lungs. It's like putting a stopper on a tank so the air can be contained while compression is done. Being a human, she doesn't have this extra flap, so she won't be able to hold air in under extreme pressure to use freezing breath; she'll only be able to make use of a much higher lung capacity."

"That makes sense. Anything else?" Batman took notes mentally. He wanted to know the stats of a "Super Lois" before having to experience them first hand.

"Well, our super strength, and invulnerability are based on our Kryptonian brain. Her brain has the same parts as ours, so she will still have super strength and invulnerability, and it almost certainly will work the same way as ours does, but since her brain has different levels of processing for different thought processes, they might have different magnitudes than ours has. They might be stronger or weaker. I don't know, since I've never tested it on a human before."

"So she will probably be weaker than a Kryptonian."

"Yes," Doz continued, "because a human brain does not have as much intelligence capacity as ours does, no offense."

"None taken."

Doz concluded his explanation. "She'll most likely still be harmed by green Kryptonite, and she probably will require more solar exposure to get the same effect as we do, but that's not my main focus. At least she should be immune to this type of radiation."

"Well, we'd better get moving. It's best to prepare early." Bruce stood up and went to collect his custom radiation-proof Batman suit. Doz prepared to take off as well.

"I just hope we can contain this thing," Doz hoped.


	5. Chapter 5

Last Voices  
by Moonraker One

CHAPTER FIVE – That which is discovered

The wind picked up as a jetliner ended its final descent into an airport outside of Rio de Janeiro. Two specific passengers, filed rather anonymously amongst a crowd of a few hundred people, headed to the baggage claim, hoping their materials weren't lost. At least a few dozen individuals arranged into a thin grouping around the moving belt as the suitcases slid down and began moving,, almost all of which got picked up almost as soon as they touched down. Lana reached over the metal rail and lifted her case with a grunt, pulling the slightly heavy case over the rail. Lois grasped the handle of her suitcase, and prepared to struggle to hoist it over to the ground near her. The luggage flew upward, almost out of control, forcing the reporter to quickly realign herself. The crowd glanced over and quiet murmurs of gossip could be heard, albeit scarcely. Lois heard them all very clearly but paid no mind. What her concern with was the virtual weightlessness of her suitcase. "Lana," the reporter requested, "wait a minute. I think some of the things in my suitcase might have fallen out in the airplane."

Lana expressed concern as she leaned over. "Oh? I hope that isn't the case. We'll make a complaint to the airport if it is."

Lois opened her suitcase, and immediately squinted in confusion. "Huh. That's weird. All the stuff is here." She sorted it through. "Yeah, it's all here. It shouldn't be this light." She hoisted it up to waist level with one hand.

Lana chuckled once. "Don't worry about it, Lois, you are just probably getting stronger because of all that paperwork you're always moving around."

Lois shook her head. "I guess." She walked along with her friend through the security gates. "I'm surprised I have as much energy as I do; I usually get jet-lag after flights like that one." That drink Doz gave her must have worked. She did, however, expect to crash later on for drinking it, as was the curse of caffeine.

"I need some of your energy, Lois," Lana quipped. "I hate flights." She wiped her brow. She looked at her friend on the trip. The woman always seemed to have the ability to move on despite knowing full well what the human race was capable of. She would never understand it.

The rental car came into view as the two of them exited the expansive air port and out into the scorching afternoon sun. Lois noticed immediately that her usually sensitive skin wasn't feeling hotter than usual. The reporter usually found her skin easy to burn by the relatively calmer Metropolis sun. Lana began to sweat quickly. "I can't wait to get out of these clothes and into a cooler outfit. I don't know how you can walk around out here with that suit on."

Lois set her suitcase in the trunk after it popped open. "I don't get it either. I usually burn easily because I have sensitive skin." As unusual as it was, however, she chalked it up to circumstance because she had no evidence to something otherwise.

Doz sat, with his equipment, on a platform he could carry. He kept an eye on the data as the meteor approached within Earth's magnetic area. He wore a frown as he looked at the data for the rotation and the pathway. It wasn't going to change course, but something worse was going to happen. _Dammit, it's probably going to break apart in the atmosphere, and we won't be able to predict where the pieces will fall._ He hated the prospect of not being able to figure out anything about the meteor he'd studied for the better part of a week or so.

His communicator beeped. "Doz, are you keeping track of the numbers?" Batman's matter-of-fact voice came through rather clearly.

He pressed a button. "Yes, but the problem is, if my calculations are correct, we're going to see the object break apart in the atmosphere. It should remain within a hundred mile radius of the epicenter, but we're probably going to see fragments." He calibrated some of his equipment while he awaited the inevitable response from his partner.

Batman kicked up some dirt in frustration. How could he, with nowhere near the scientific background as Doz, predict this turn so quickly? His gut instinct, he knew, seldom proved wrong. "Dammit," he swore. "I knew it. Well, let's just try to keep this from spreading into an utter disaster." He kept his sights on a laptop screen. "After all, it probably won't be difficult to find stragglers who might seep through our sights." If there was one thing he hated, it always was dealing with people whose curiosity got them killed.

The Kryptonian scientist released a series of bug-like devices that he tuned to the specific frequency of the radiation that would emanate from the meteor. His radar picked up their separate locations as they flew off to the estimated ares in which fragments might land. While he typed away at his computer, a mosquito landed on his chest, and, upon finding the skin impossible to penetrate with its proboscis, fled the scene. This repeated itself several times. Batman found the problem required a different solution, a chemical solution.

Lois and Lana found their way to the hotel soon enough. The reporter had changed out of her suit after much debate by her partner on the trip. Both of them wore swimsuits and headed out to the rather large pool that sat behind the huge building. Of the crowd, most paid no notice, while some of the males stared and made facial expressions indicative of their intent. Of the two, the assistant to Lex Luthor kept a thick layer of suntan lotion with built-in bug repellent on her skin. The reporter felt the sun's heat, but it felt refreshing instead of burning, like what usually felt when she went outside with her sensitive skin. "I'm going to relax here for a bit, Lois. I might swim later. What about you?"

Lois hadn't had on a two piece swimsuit in a long time. "Uh, I think I'll check things out for a bit." She stuck her left index finger in her left ear and twisted it a bit. "Did you hear me? The cross-talk is a bit loud." She could hear everyone talking and discern each message separately and clearly, but she waited for the nod from her friend before she moved on. Lana looked at her in a strange manner; she could only hear quiet gibberish amongst the sounds of water moving.

Lois didn't actually do any swimming immediately. At first, she went around and circled the area. One of the first things she took interest in sat in a small booth behind a gathering of palm trees. A dark-skinned man massaged rich-looking older women. She didn't sit down, however; she took interest in some polished black stones sitting in a solution of water over a flame. The man noticed her walking to his left. "Don't touch that," he said, in a thick Spanish accent, "those are in boiling water and I have to put them in this other solution to cool them down to use in massages." He went back to concentrating on his current task. Lois dipped her hand in to grab a stone, completely disregarding his command. _Water usually bubbles when it's boiling. I think he's lying._ Pure water, having a different nature than tap, began boiling as soon as contaminants from her hand entered solution. Initially, she drew her hand out of psychological effect, but dipped it back in to touch the stone. It didn't feel like one hundred degrees Celsius; it felt like moderately warm liquid. Thinking back to the abnormal lightness of the suitcase, she left the booth and began to look around. _Oh, I hope I'm wrong about what's going on._

_Hmm_, she thought. _If what I think happened, happened, then surely I can test it_. She found some dry leaves fallen from a palm. _Ah!_ There we go. She lifted it to eye level. Squinting, she saw nothing happen immediately. A few seconds into focusing, though, she found herself staring at individual cells in the leaf. _Microscopic vision_, she noted. She closed and opened her eyes; back to normal seeing. Squinting again, she found that the spot she stared at caught fire. _Heat vision. Son of a bitch_. She put it out and set it down.

Putting her hands to the ground and standing in sprinter's position, she took off and got all the way to the parking lot in less than a second, from all the way behind the hotel. During motion, she saw everything around her slow to a non-mobile crawl. She turned her head and saw the pool, a good 400 yards away. _Super speed. I swear, someone is going to get fucking yelled at when I get home_. She took a deep breath, and breathed out; no change in temperature. _Okay, so maybe no freezing breath, but I certainly have a bigger lung capacity._ She moved into the lot. An Aston Martin sat in the spot she stopped at. Grasping the frame underneath, she hosted it effortlessly to waist height and set it down. _Super Strength._ She focused hard enough and found herself slightly off the ground. _Flight._ She shook her head. "Doz, you sneaky bastard," she swore. The only time, she could figure, he could've introduced anything into her body to give her Kryptonian abilities, it would've been the drink she had. She slowly strolled back to the pool, a peeved expression on her face.

She got slightly less angry the closer she got to the pool. _Look on the bright side, Lois,_ she countered her emotions with. _Now, you won't have to worry about Clark as much to save you, and, you can get better news articles since you can hear people talking from miles away._ Any anger she had at Doz for giving her these abilities, vanished when she realized she could apply them to work. It hadn't dawned on her while she exercised her anger that it would improve her working abilities as a reporter. She decided to go back to the pool and and swim.

The asteroid flew ever closer to Earth, passing by the moon. At this point, its course was more or less guaranteed. Doz and Bruce kept their equipment locked onto it. The Kryptonian scientist got better readings now that there was too little time to change its course. Now he knew exactly where it would land. It would land almost forty miles from his position to his northwest. Fragments of the asteroid might land as far as a hundred miles away, but he certainly didn't believe they'd reach far enough to pose a threat to civilized areas. If they did, he'd leave his post and stop the fragment. After all, it wouldn't hurt him, but he couldn't allow it to affect innocents. That would simply be unethical.

"Tell me something, Bruce," Doz said over the radio, "I know you're getting restless, just waiting for the asteroid. But wait just a bit longer, and it'll show up." He didn't just want to say that. "What I wanted to ask you, is, how do you make sure criminals in Gotham get put away? I can't imagine 'The Batman caught him, so he must be bad,' holds up in court."

Bruce rolled his eyes. He'd gotten this question so many times, by so many people. "I have evidence that, well, let's just say doesn't get put in the court record. I don't want my insider evidence on these bad guys going into public record right away where they might be corrupted or otherwise rendered useless."

"That makes sense." He went back to the data in front of him. He could imagine such a situation, despite having yet to experience personally the humans' system of justice. Supergirl had told him, though, of how crime-infested Gotham City always was, so he wondered what the city must have been prior to Batman's arrival on the scene. Nevertheless, his task at hand warranted all of his considerable scientific knowledge, so he paid it full attention.

Quite a ways away, a moderately more comfortable Lois Lane swam the length of the Olympic-size pool. Expensive hotels, she clearly saw, offered the very best accommodations for everything, even swimming. What amazed her more than the quality of the swimming pool, lie in her newly-acquired vision. She could, if she focused hard enough, see the individual groups of water molecules with her microscopic vision, and how, on such a scale, the molecules of the skins of the swimmers and the water itself faded seamlessly into each other, making everything look completely the same. Only on a larger scale did differences in appearance show up. She touched the wall on the other side of the pool.

As Lois exited the water, Lana looked up and inquired, "Do you want to grab a bite to eat? I hear they have exceptional cuisine this time of day. I think we could get washed off and head out if you want." She adjusted her sunglasses.

"I think that's a great idea," she replied. The two of them headed to the showers so they could then partake of the fine dining establishment that worked in tandem with the hotel. Lois could see the different amounts of chlorine as they danced off her skin. _This microscopic vision is fascinating_, she thought. She got past the groups of people exiting the locker room and heading to the pool, and entered the women's showers. The steaming, hot water felt comfortable against her skin. It helped knowing she could not get burned by the water. After drying off and dressing, she departed for the dining room.

"You know," Lana admitted, "for a vacation forced on me, this is great. I guess you have to get away from it all every now and then." She took a bite of her food. "Sit down. I ordered for you already. I hope that's ok."

Lois brushed it off. "Yeah, don't worry. It's fine." She looked around, focusing her enhanced hearing as she moved her head around. At first she found it difficult, but she quickly learned that with sufficient focus, any individual sound in the sea of amplified noise could be picked out. The varying levels of complexity in conversation present gave her a slight smug feeling. Back at the Daily Planet, Cat Grant, who devoted her life to the smut and gossip of pig feed level controversy, would certainly kill to have at least this super ability. Lois Lane felt good knowing she had something that the vulture would want. "I'm just glad you can share your forced vacation with me."

Lana laughed. "And to think some of my friends back in high school thought I was a secretive woman."

Lois shared her sentiment. "Secrets usually only lead to ruin." she shook her head. "Sometimes, secrets can be a pain in the ass. But anyway, how is life with Lex Luthor?" She got a look from Lana. "Come on, Lana. You know it isn't exactly a secret that you work for LexCorp."

"Lex is being more damn crazy than ever," she admitted. "He's buying up the world's supplies of Kryptonite to make Superman's life more miserable than he's already done." She noted the concerned look on Lois's face. It was her counter to the cheap shot the woman had made with mentioning Lex. "Personally, I think he needs to get a new hobby."

The reporter rolled her eyes. "He's still nursing that old grudge for Superman ruining his ties to the underworld? That's sad." She took a bite of her food. Her hearing alerted her to a rumbling sound in the air several dozen miles from the hotel. "Lana, I'll be back." She slowly walked out of the restaurant, and when she was out of sight, took off at super speed.

Doz looked up at the object streaking in from the heavens, and looked over to his right to see a high speed blur moving towards him. He smiled. "Ah, Lois. Good to see you've decided to join Batman and myself out here." She arrived out of an after image of speed, and had a moderately peeved expression on her face.

She pointed a finger at him. "Spare me the nice speech, Doz, you know how pissed I am that you did this against my will. Care to tell me why?" He walked towards a series of machinery. She stood in front of him so he couldn't ignore her.

"You see that?" he pointed to the asteroid. "It has a type of kryptonite in it that we haven't seen on Earth before. I've found that its energy isn't harmful to Kryptonians, but rather, to humans and terrestrial life. I couldn't take the risk of the object's radiation harming you." He looked at her. "What would your husband say about me knowing and not doing?"

She folded her arms. "Fine. I won't hold it against you. But what are you planning to do with this meteor?"

"First," he explained, "you and I are going to guide it in to make sure it doesn't attract too much attention. Then, Batman and myself will each get a few pieces of the kryptonite to study. Acceptable?"

She nodded. "I guess I will have to help you if I have these abilities." she got another good look at the meteor. "What do you want me to do?"

He flew upwards, pointing her along. "Fly with me up to about here. We're going to catch it. With our combined strength, it should land in our grasp without fragmenting." She got in a position he pointed out to her, and they both readied themselves. She'd never used her super strength like this before, so it gave her something of an adrenaline rush. The object came streaming in, and just as Doz had predicted, they were able to latch onto it and slow it to a stop, then guide it in easily.

"See? Easy." he smiled at her. Then he took his nanomachines which went like a mist throughout the meteorite and extracted all of the kryptonite, encasing it in lead containers so it would not be harmful. Batman took one of the containers into his vehicle, and Doz packed up his machinery and flew off. "Bye for now, Lois. See you some other time!"

She shook her head. "I'll never get used to Kryptonians." She looked at a tree to her left, and splintered it into a thousand pieces with a punch. "This, however, I think I'll enjoy thoroughly."


End file.
